INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

BA 347 410

Professor: Manolete V. Gonzalez, Phd. Email: Manolete.Gonzalez@oregonstate.edu

To communicate with me, send me an email and you should get a response or an
Announcement will be posted by the next business day. I will be out of the country throughout
the Winter term.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
This course is an introduction to International Business. Consistent with the description in the
course catalog, this online course is designed to provide “an integrated view of international
business including current patterns of international business, socioeconomic and geopolitical
systems within countries as they affect the conduct of business, major theories explaining
international business transactions, financial forms and institutions that facilitate international
transactions, and the interface between nation states and the firms conducting foreign
business activities.”

The introductory nature of this course requires that we cover a lot of ground because of the
breadth of subjects that fall under the title of International Business. By way of learning
outcomes, students will be expected to gain a working knowledge of the different facets of
international business, at least beyond a superficial reading of news about international
business topics.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

This course is designed so that students can access the materials that they should either read
or watch and listen through Canvas. For each week, the requirements will be stated in the
overview page for the Module or Modules for that week. Changes to requirements or
schedules will be announced under Announcement on Canvas.

Make sure to access the appropriate Modules on Canvas every week.

COURSE PREREQUISITES
ECON 202 or ECON 202H and a minimum grade of C- or better. Junior standing.
LEARNING PROCESS
The course is structured around modules. Each module corresponds to an international
business subject; the course schedule at the end of this syllabus states which Module will be
covered each week. The Modules for each week will have a list containing access to the an
Overview or Introductory page. Each Module Overview will contain learning outcomes for the
subject, reading materials, lectures, and articles. In addition, the Overview page will also
contain the Research Assignments, Discussion Boards, Group Reports, and Quizzes for the
Module.

For each Module/subject, an overview page is provided on Canvas. To reiterate, the intention
of this page is to guide students on how the subject will be covered and to provide access to
required materials covering the subject. Each overview page will include the following:
- The learning objectives;
- A link to a short video lecture introducing the subject;
- Links to required and supplementary videos and/or articles;
- Links to assignments including research assignments, discussion board questions, and
group report topics;
- And a link to quizzes.

It is important that students go through the Module overview page for every subject to
understand what is required for the subject. Each of these pages contain introductory video
lecture which should provide students with an overview of the various topics that form part of
the subject matter; a chapter or section from an online text and/or video lectures will be
assigned to enable students to develop a more in-depth knowledge of the subject;
supplementary video lectures or links to websites are provided to illustrate and/or expand on
selected topics.

To build on the required materials, and to allow for evaluation of how students are progressing
in terms of their comprehension of and ability to apply what they are learning, students will be
required to take quizzes and to analyze data relevant to the subject through a Research
Assignment, examine specific topics through Discussion Boards, and as a group, bring
together different aspects of the subject through analysis of an international business situation.
Descriptions of these requirements are provided under Course Requirements. The specific
instructions for each assignment for each subject, including deadlines, are provided under the
appropriate Module in Canvas and can also be found in the various sections under
Assignments.

The requirements for this course should demand as much time as the on-campus version.
The demands of preparing for a test every class may require more study time for the on-
campus version, depending on how a student prepares for exams; however, the intent of the
different assignments for this online version is to provide a broader depth of knowledge of
International Business, and if a student takes the time to do these properly, it should take as
much time as the on-campus version.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The requirements are described below, categorized using Bloom’s taxonomy. DO NOTE, all
Assignments will be checked to ensure compliance with OSU Academic Dishonesty rules.

NOTE on Week 1: In addition to the requirements on each subject, which will be described
below, there will be a Discussion Board Question asking students to introduce themselves to
the class and a Quiz on Requirements in Week 1. The Quiz is to make sure all students get
prepared.

Comprehension

Quizzes: Quizzes will be administered as shown on the schedule. These quizzes will cover
material contained in video lectures and reading assignments, etc., under the Required
Materials; there will be one quiz per Module/subject covered for the week. Expect 25 true/false
and multiple-choice questions per subject.

Application

Module Research Assignments: To enable students to expand their understanding of topics

covered in each subject, in particular, to provide them exposure to and experience in studying
data bases that provide information on different aspects of international business, students will
be assigned a research task on a topic based on an assigned chapter.

The Module Research Assignment will take the form of instructions from senior management
to analyze a particular question or issue using data that is generally accessible. A short
scenario will be provided for each Assignment, which will place the student in the role of an
analyst in an International firm. Therefore, each report should be written as a report to be
submitted to the senior management of a company, and in the student’s own words.

Analysis/Synthesis

Discussion Boards: Students will examine at least two topics in each module through
Discussion Boards, a topic related to each subject in Modules with two subjects. Students are
encouraged to actively participate in these Discussion Boards by contributing new and
constructive comments. Students are required to make the following number of posts as the
minimum requirements for each Discussion Board Thread:
- One original comment on each thread;
- A reply to the comments of at least three other students’ original comment;
- A reply to at least one comment posted in reply to his or her original comment.
An important consideration in evaluating a student’s response to a Discussion Board topic is
the quality of his or her postings. Substantive postings are required.

Group Report: There will be a Group Report due every two weeks. Students will be organized
into groups of three or four early in the term; these groups will have two weeks to prepare and
submit an analysis of an international business topic. This will require that students get in
touch with each other after the groups are formed and establish some rules as to how they will
work together. A link to the instructions for this Group Report will be provided in the Overview
page and the schedule for the Week. The intent of this assignment, and the basis for
evaluation, is to encourage students to bring together different ideas and concepts from
different chapters in analyzing the business case or topic. Therefore it is expected that each
student will submit his or her individual contribution to the group, the group will then review and
discuss these submissions, and conclude with a group report.

Module Wrap-up: Comments on the Module Research Assignments, Discussion Boards, and
Quizzes may be posted in the Wrap-up Section of each Week. These comments from the
instructor may be in the form of corrections or clarifications of or elaborations on what were
observed in these various assignments. These will be posted in the Wrap-up section to make
it available to all students.

At the discretion of the instructor, a quiz may be given at the end of the term, at the end of the
5th and 10th week of the course, on the contents of the Module Wrap-ups. An announcement
will be made on the 4th and the 9th week if a quiz will be given the following week.

GRADING

In general submissions will be graded based on compliance with the instructions, the quality of
the content, the proper application of relevant concepts covered in the course, and proper
citations of sources. The rules on citations may be found in the following:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/. Moreover, all assignments will be
checked for plagiarism through Turnitin.

Obviously postings that are not understandable, usually due to the quality of the writing, will be
graded on what the instructor can understand.

Quizzes: There will be a separate quiz for each subject area. In most weeks, this means there
will be two quizzes, which students can take when convenient but within the time period the
quizzes are available. These will be administered through Canvas. Students will be allowed
one attempt for each quiz. Moreover, students will be given 20 minutes to complete each quiz;
attempts that exceed the time limit will receive a grade of “0”. PLEASE NOTE: the purpose of
imposing a time limit is to encourage students to read and understand the material before
taking the quiz, and not to rely on searching for answers while taking the quiz.

Module Research Assignments: The instructions for each research assignment will be posted
under Research Assignment for each Module. Instructions will include a specific question or
topic management wants to be addressed, the components of such a question or topic, and
suggested source materials for students to access. These research assignments will be
evaluated based whether the assignment was written well, i.e. I can understand it, in
compliance with instructions, and in the format of a report to management.

If a Module Research Assignment is submitted without proper citations and sources of

information contained in the Assignment are not referenced properly, a grade of 0 will be given
for the first offense. Moreover, if Turnitin reports that a Module Research Assignment has
contents not in the words of the student in excess of 25% and without proper citations, a grade
of 0 will be given for the first offense. Note the penalty for the second offense below.

Discussion Boards: Discussion board postings will be evaluated on the quality of the
comments posted and compliance with the minimum requirements, i.e. did the student post a
reply, reply to three other postings/comments, and reply to one of the comments to his or her
post, and quality of the reply. Regarding the quality of the comments, it is important that
comments be grounded on an understanding of the topics and issues in the chapter and/or
supplementary materials, and that replies to other students’ postings be constructive. To state
the obvious, to merely respond with an “I agree” or variations thereof is not acceptable and will
not be counted as complying with the minimum number of posts.

Group Work: The instructions for group reports will be posted under each Group Report
assignment. Instructions will include specific question or topic management wants to be
addressed, the components of such a question or topic, and in some cases, suggested source
materials for students to access. Group reports will be evaluated based on whether the report
was written as a report to management and compliance the instructions.

If a Group Report is submitted without proper citations and references, i.e. sources of
information contained in the report are not referenced properly, a grade of 0 will be given for
the first offense. Moreover, if Turnitin reports that a Group report had contents not in the
words of the student in excess of 25% and without proper citations, a grade of 0 will be given
for the first offense. Note the penalty for the second offense below.

Group Peer Review: To provide the course instructor feedback on the quality of a student’s
participation in and contribution to the group effort, each member of a group will submit a peer
evaluation of the other members at the end of the term. These evaluations will be taken into
consideration in the final group grade for the student, i.e. should the student earn the full
grade?

GRADE WEIGHTS

Weight

Quizzes 30%

Module Research Assignments 30%

Discussion Boards 15%

Group Work 25%

NOTE: Module Research Assignments and Group Reports, will be graded on a 10 point scale
(8 for adequate). A Rubric may be used to grade both the Reserch Assignment and Group
Reports. An example of a Rubric is provided in the Start Here Module.
Discussion Boards will be graded on a 5 point scale, a point for each appropriate comment and
response. Each question in a quiz will be worth a point.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

With respect to checking for Academic Dishonesty, a second offense in terms of lack of
referencing and violations of limits on percentages reported by Turnitin (with more than 25%
copied without proper citations), regardless of whether the offense was committed in
submitting a Research Assignment or group report, will result in a grade of F for the course
and the filing of an Academic Dishonesty Report.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Any student who may need special accommodations or has any emergency medical
information the instructor should know, please inform the instructor by email as early as
possible, no later than the first week of the term.

Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Disability

Access Services (DAS). Students with accommodations approved through DAS are
responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during
the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are
eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through DAS
should contact DAS immediately at 737-4098.

NEED HELP WITH YOUR STUDIES?

If you are not happy with your performance in this class, please email the course
instructor ASAP to diagnose problems and develop alternative study strategies.

Another valuable resource for students is the OSU Academic Success Center located
in 102 Waldo Hall which supports the university's learning environment and promotes
student success through graduation. Essential functions include advising, coordinating
tutoring services and training, offering academic success courses. You may access
many of their resources at http://success.oregonstate.edu/
 CODE OF CONDUCT

We will abide by the COB Code of Conduct, the OUS Student Conduct Code, and a few
additional “house rules.”

CODE OF CONDUCT: The Guiding Principles for members of the College of Business
Community are to:

treat others with honesty, respect, and courtesy

maintain the highest levels of academic integrity

act in accordance with my ethical and social responsibilities

strive to foster a professional learning environment

act in a professional manner

The OUS Student Conduct Code: Students are expected to be honest and ethical in
their academic work. With regards to the examinations, all University Academic
Regulations on academic honesty will be strictly enforced. There is a zero tolerance
policy on cheating during exams. To stress a few of these policies:

Academic or Scholarly Dishonesty is defined as an act of deception in which a Student

seeks to claim credit for the work or effort of another person, or uses unauthorized
materials or fabricated information in any academic work or research, either through the
Student's own efforts or the efforts of another. It includes:

CHEATING - use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information or study aids,

or an act of deceit by which a Student attempts to misrepresent mastery of academic
effort or information. This includes but is not limited to unauthorized copying or
collaboration on a test or assignment, using prohibited materials and texts, any misuse
of an electronic device, or using any deceptive means to gain academic credit.

Unauthorized copying, or copying without proper citation and referencing, is plagiarism.

The following is a guide to how to properly cite external sources.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/.

ASSISTING - helping another commit an act of academic dishonesty. This includes but
is not limited to paying or bribing someone to acquire a test or assignment, changing
someone's grades or academic records, taking a test/doing an assignment for someone
else by any means, including misuse of an electronic device. It is a violation of Oregon
state law to create and offer to sell part or all of an educational assignment to another
person (ORS 165.114)., presenting someone else's opinions and theories as one's own,
or working jointly on a project and then submitting it as one's own.

Academic Dishonesty cases are handled initially by the academic units, following the
process outlined in the University's Academic Dishonesty Report Form, and will also be
referred to SCCS for action under these rules.

Please refer to the Statement of Expectations for Student Conduct, i.e., cheating
policies at:
http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/rules/oars_500/oar_576/576_015.html

ADDITIONAL “HOUSE RULES”

This is an on-line class. Contact with the instructor may not be as convenient as when
we are all in one physical facility. Of course, you can always reach me by email.
However, students are expected to be familiar with and to keep up to date with the
different course requirements, e.g. required materials in each Module and written
assignments, discussion board topics, etc., and where applicable, their deadlines.

Changes will be announced via an announcement on Canvas a week before the

schedule change is to take effect.

If there are requirements that require clarification, e.g. what exactly is required of a
discussion question, unless it is a question that is of a strictly personal nature, post it on
the FAQ discussion board thread. I will respond on that thread so that all students
might benefit from the information. If you do send an email, again because it is a
personal request or something, do give me a reasonable amount of time to respond,
e.g. do not send an email at midnight and expect a response within the hour.
MODULES SCHEDULE for BA 347 410

WEEK MODULES/SUBJECTS(1) ASSIGNMENTS

Start Here Module Discussion Boards:
1 Module Research Assignment;
Course Introduction Quiz on Requirements
Globalization Quiz.
Globalization

Differences in Culture Discussion Boards:

2 Module Research Assignments:
Ethics in International Business Group Report (2):
Differences in Culture Quiz
Ethics in . . Quiz.

National Differences in Political Economy Discussion Boards:

3 Module Research Assignment:
Political Economy and Economic Quizzes on Modules for the
Development week.

International Trade Theory Discussion Boards:

4 Module Research Assignment:
The Political Economy of International Group Report (2):
Trade Quizzes on Modules for the
Week.

Foreign Direct Investment Discussion Boards:

5 Module Research Assignment:
Regional Economic Integration Quizzes on Modules for the
Week.

The Foreign Exchange Market Discussion Boards:

6 Module Research Assignment:
The International Monetary System Group Report(2):
Quizzes on Modules for the
Week.

The Global Capital Market Discussion Boards:

7 Module Research Assignment:
Quiz on Module for the Week.

8 The Strategy of International Business Discussion Boards:

Module Research Assignment:
 Entry Strategy and Strategic Alliances Group Research Report (2):
Quizzes on Modules for the
Week.

Exporting, Importing, and Countertrade Discussion Boards:

9 Module Research Assignment:
Global Production, Outsourcing, and Quizzes on Modules for the
Logistics Week.

Accounting and Finance in the Discussion Boards:

10 International Business Module Research Assignment:
Group Report (2);
Quiz on Module for the Week.

(1) Learning outcomes, an introductory lecture, video lectures, and links to articles
will be provided for each Module/subject.
(2) There will be detailed instructions for Research Assignment and Group Report
accessible under each Module Overview page in Canvas.